Rise in animal testing in New Zealand

New figures reveal more than 300,000 animals were used in
laboratory tests and experiments last year and just under a third
were killed.

Sheep, cattle, even cats and dogs have all been used in lab
experiments over the last year.

The report has outraged anti-vivisectionists who say animals are
being needlessly hurt.

"They come out with these reports and they say they are trying
to reduce things and they are trying to make things better. Nothing
ever happens and it just gets worse," says Mark Eden, an
anti-vivisection campaigner.

But John Martin from the Animal Ethics Advisory Committee says
New Zealand has a "very rigourous" approval system.

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MAF's report reveals that over 300,000 animals were used in
research and testing last year. Of those, 4,804 were subjected to
severe suffering, while 11,489 were subjected to very severe
suffering.

The report says animals that suffer severely are given pre and
post-operative pain relief and if the animals continue to
deteriorate they are either removed from the study or killed to put
them out of their misery.

All up, nearly 99,000 animals were killed.

"One needs to identify the benefits, then ensure that one is
using only those animals you have to use; that the numbers for each
experiment are the minimum and that they are treated with care,"
says Martin.

The report also shows that livestock has overtaken rodents as
the most tested and examined lab animals.

Also, 12 chimps and two Asian elephants were tested in New
Zealand last year.

MAF claims last year's animal testing aided research into
arthritis and wound healing in humans. But the bulk of the testing
is used to improve sheep and dairy herds.